On Wednesday, the Horn of Africa nation ended three decades of being locked out of the global financial system when it signed an agreement with multilateral lenders canceling $4.5 billion of debt it couldn’t repay.

It’s a testament to the administration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, which had to jump through a number of hoops including overhauling its public financial management systems to win the pact.

It marks a rare success story in a world awash with debt. Other African nations including Zambia and Ghana are struggling to secure relief after extended talks.

Since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, Somalia has often been a byword for failed state. The government barely existed, trade and even contact with the outside world was limited and the internecine clan fighting that followed his ouster paved the way for the emergence of al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group that’s still mounting an insurgency.

The agreement with lenders including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund gives Somalia a shot at normalizing its relations with the rest of the world, growing its economy and boosting its security.

But there are challenges.

While external debt will fall to just 6% of national economic output from 42%, annual domestic revenue of just $345 million is pitiful for a nation of 17 million people where there’s little formal economic activity to speak of.

The country continues to be at war and has been devastated by a four-year drought. There are only three poorer nations, World Bank data shows.

Still, this week’s announcement is a major step on what’s likely to be a long road to recovery.